Uncertainties abound for asylum seekers

Mohsen Mikhael and his family are Coptic Christians from Egypt. They arrived in the U.S. in June and are seeking asylum. From left: Mikhael's Son Shadi Abouseif, 19; daughter Mai Abuseif, 15; Mohsen Mikhael and his wife, Sherin Yani. COURTESY OF MOHSEN MIKHAEL

Asylum seekers

44,446

Total asylum applications filed in U.S in 2013

2,819

Asylum applications from Egypt in 2013, 6 percent of all applications filed

24,550

Total asylum applications filed in U.S in 2009: 24,550

531

Asylum applications from Egypt in 2010. 1.86 percent of applications

806

Egyptian applications processed in Los Angeles in 2013

8,000

Asylum applicants currently waiting interviews in Los Angeles

Source: Department of Homeland Security. The numbers represent applications, not people; each request may include multiple family members.

Coptic Christians

The term "Coptic Christian" is most often used in reference to members of the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria. The church, headed by Pope Tawadros II, is one of the oldest Christian denominations and has churches around the world, including Southern California.

However, "Coptic Christian" also refers to all Egyptian Christians and encompasses multiple denominations, including Catholic, evangelical and Presbyterian.

Most Coptic denominations are on a different calendar than the Gregorian calendar and celebrate Christmas in January.

Mohsen Mikhael had a few simple prayers when he fled Egypt last June with his wife and two teenage children, boarding a plane with one suitcase apiece and leaving their homeland behind.

Let us be safe. Let us be together. Let the threatening phone calls cease. Let us make a new home.

Sitting in the quiet two-bedroom apartment the family now shares in Long Beach's Belmont Heights neighborhood, Mikhael says the most important prayers have been answered. But six months after filing an asylum petition in the U.S., the family is still waiting for their case to be heard and has a new set of worries.

“My first and biggest challenge is to get the legal paper so we can really feel like we are normal people,” he said.

The number of asylum applications in the U.S. swelled by 56 percent between 2010 and 2013, while the number of Egyptians seeking asylum rose by 430 percent, according to the Department of Homeland Security.

It's an explosion that is straining the immigration system, leaving many in limbo. In the Los Angeles area alone there are 8,000 asylum seekers currently waiting for a chance to plead their case with an immigration officer.

Mikhael and his family have waited for 200 days. Some have been waiting for years.

Homeland Security officials say the average wait is 109 days.

ESCALATING THREATS

When the first phone call came in March 2013, Mikhael thought it couldn't be real.

“Stop what you are doing, or we are going to kidnap your children,”Mikhael recalls the voice saying.

Since the Egyptian revolution of 2011, Mikhael and his family – wife Sherin Yani, son Shadi Abouseif, 19, and daughter Mai Abuseif, 15 – had become used to an atmosphere of danger.

The family is Presbyterian, part of a Christian minority that has been subject to a growing number of threats and attacks in Egypt in recent years.

But when the phone calls came it was personal – a response, Mikhael said, to his human rights work with the nonprofit organization Relief International and other nonprofits.

Mohsen Mikhael and his family are Coptic Christians from Egypt. They arrived in the U.S. in June and are seeking asylum. From left: Mikhael's Son Shadi Abouseif, 19; daughter Mai Abuseif, 15; Mohsen Mikhael and his wife, Sherin Yani. COURTESY OF MOHSEN MIKHAEL
Mohsen Mikhael speaks with his wife, Sherin Yani, during a family bible study in their home in Long Beach. The family is seeking asylum from their native Egypt. CHRISTIAN RANDOLPH, STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
Siblings Shadi Abouseif, right, and Mai Abuseif go over a bible passage during a family bible study and discussion at their home in Long Beach. CHRISTIAN RANDOLPH, STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
A cross is displayed in the home of Mohsen Mikhael and his family. CHRISTIAN RANDOLPH, STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
Mohsen Mikhael and his family read along from the Bible with other members of their congregation at Faith Presbyterian Church in Long Beach. CHRISTIAN RANDOLPH, STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

1 of

User Agreement

Keep it civil and stay on topic. No profanity, vulgarity, racial
slurs or personal attacks. People who harass others or joke about
tragedies will be blocked. By posting your comment, you agree to
allow Orange County Register Communications, Inc. the right to
republish your name and comment in additional Register publications
without any notification or payment.